Crisis Leadership and Public Governance during the COVID–19 Pandemic: International Comparisons (Critical Perspectives and Issues in Governance and Public Management Book 1)

This book explores various issues and challenges emanating from the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines how governments worldwide have dealt with the pandemic. Post-COVID-19 and its disruptive impact on social and economic life as well as public and political attitudes, the world is not the same. A new normal has dawned in public management and public services, with immense implications. This volume collects the lessons drawn from the pandemic, notably how crisis leadership and public governance were used to combat the crisis, as well as which aspects were helpful in that regard. This book covers a total of 17 countries and regions, namely: Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China (Mainland), Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, The Netherlands, the Nordic Countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland), the UK and US. Special attention is drawn to China (Mainland) in particular, where the pandemic first broke out. Its subsequent efforts in suppressing the epidemic have been quite stunning. The range enables good international comparisons to be made in crisis leadership, response strategies and effectiveness across continents, systems, and cultures (East Asia, Oceania, Europe and North America). While the pandemic is still ongoing by the time the book is finalized, the experience gained over more than two years has provided good ground for lesson drawing.Readership: University and college libraries; academics, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers in the fields of governance, public administration, government and politics, public management, public policy and crisis management; public sector managers (especial those who have a role to play in crisis management and anti-epidemic work); Masters students in Public Administration, Public Policy and Public Management and even MBA programmes; those who are generally interested in understanding government work and performance, including politicians, political party researchers, think tank analysts and media journalists. Read more